YORK, PA – The 2014 Can-Am Police-Fire Games is less than one month away and the July 1 registration deadline is rapidly approaching for emergency, protective and all first responders to Get in the Game July 13-20 in York County, PA.
Next month’s Can-Am Games will feature an impressive lineup of approximately 50 events, including the new EMS Skills Competition. Can-Am weightlifting events come to the iconic York Barbell Company and USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame, and swimming is notably popular going into the final days before the registration deadline.
Opening Ceremonies July 13 kick off the first Can-Am Police-Fire Games ever held on the East Coast of the United States. The event is open to the public and features the Lancers Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps, unique emergency vehicles, torch lighting by a Make-A-Wish recipient and more.
Spectator opportunities and social events expand the fun for everyone to Get in the Game this summer in York County, PA. Charitable giving is part of the Can-Am Police-Fire Games each year the event is held, and this year proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
One month ahead of Opening Ceremonies, law enforcement is the most common background of registered competitors this year with roughly three times the number of fire personnel. Track and field, trap shooting and swimming have the most participant registrations among individual events as of the middle of June. Swimming’s popularity in particular has come as a welcome surprise based on previous interest.
“Each time the Can-Am Games is held, the event takes on its own unique characteristics — different sports are more or less popular than the previous Games and geographic preferences come into play,” said Rich Reincke, Sports Director. “We have an outstanding week of competition and camaraderie in store.”
Top states or Canadian provinces with registered participants at the end of last week were Pennsylvania, Ontario, Maryland, New York and Virginia. At the same time, competitors from Australia, India and Ukraine had completed registration in addition to participants from the United States and Canada.
“The exciting process of bringing the prestigious Can-Am Police-Fire Games to a new part of North America and introducing the competition and camaraderie to first responders and protective services members here on the East Coast is approaching its pinnacle,” said York City Police Chief Wes Kahley, Board Chairman for the York Can-Am Games. “This will be a spectacle that no one in our area of the country will want to miss.”
The Can-Am Police-Fire Games started as the Northwest Police-Fire Games in 1977 and later reorganized under the Can-Am Police-Fire Games name. The event is open to a range of protective services and first responders, and is held every other year in host communities across North America.
York County, PA, successfully bid several years ago to be the host community for 2014. This is the first time the Can-Am Police-Fire Games will be held on the East Coast of the United States. The eight-day Can-Am Games offers approximately 50 events, from horseshoes, karate and triathlon to Toughest Firefighter Alive, Toughest Competitor Alive and the EMS Skills Competition.
The Can-Am Police-Fire Games is open to far more first responders and protective services members than the name of the Can-Am Police-Fire Games might indicate. Competitors from more than 30 types of agencies are eligible, as are their spouses. Registration for sports and skills events is open until July 1.
For more information about the 2014 York Can-Am Police-Fire Games, visit www.yorkcanamgames.com.
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